Here Comes The Lady Chef - Chapter 23
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Chapter 23

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The number of guests in the restaurant is extremely large in number.

"Chef Wen, 10 orders of Kung Pao Chicken. All of them requested that you cook them." Zhu Zi shouted.

Wen Shouzhen frowned. He looked back at his disciple and asked, "s.h.i.+ Tou, can you stop cooking for a while? I need your help to gather ingredients for 10 orders of Kung Pao Chicken! The kitchen hands are a bit busy and they are too slow to keep up with the speed of my cooking!"

Then he added some oil to the wok and shook it.

"All right, s.h.i.+fu. I will get this done very quickly!" Fang Das.h.i.+ replied.

Maybe it is because he was in rush, Fang Das.h.i.+ had accidentally knocked down the basket containing carrots, and the orange carrots scattered all over the floor.

"Aiya!" Fang Das.h.i.+ shouted, and immediately rushed to pick up all the carrots. But today luck was on his side and the heavens seemed determined to get him. Just when he squatted down to pick up the carrots, he accidentally toppled a few porcelain plates containing some chicken meat. With a 'clang, clang, clang' sound, the plates shattered all over the floor, creating a bigger mess.

"s.h.i.+ Tou, are you ready? The oil is boiling!" Wen Shouzhen was too focused on cooking and did not notice the mess or noise behind him.

"Father, here you go!" A clear voice rang out.

Two snow-white hands pa.s.sed two plates of ingredients to him.

Wen Shouzhen was surprised. He turned around and saw Wen Rou giggling as she pa.s.sed the 2 plates of Kung Pao Chicken ingredients to him.

"Just now I noticed that Brother s.h.i.+ Tou had accidentally spilled some ingredients. Therefore I went out to prepare the ingredients you need."

He looked over the shoulders of Wen Rou. On the table behind her were 8 more plates containing the ingredients needed to cook the Kung Pao Chicken!

Wen Shouzhen was stupefied at this scene. He thought that Wen Rou did not know how much of each ingredient he would need. But when he saw the plate of Kung Pao Chicken ingredients that Wen Rou had prepared, he was startled to discover that the portions of all ingredients are correct!

Each plate contains about 8 Liang of chicken meat [1], 1 Liang of fried peanuts, one egg, 10 pieces of dry chilli, 10 flaps of garlic, and water mixed with corn flour.

When he looked back at Fang Das.h.i.+, he was still squatting on the floor and picking up the mess.

"Father, quickly cook these ingredients! Otherwise, the oil is too hot!" Wen Rou quickly reminded him.

"Oh, yes!" Wen Shouzhen immediate regained his wits, and stop thinking about these. He grabbed the plates that Wen Rou had pa.s.sed to him, and immediately cooked them. The fragrance of the garlic, chilli immediately effused out. Then he fried the rest of the ingredients, added the seasoning and sauce, and the dish is ready!

Wen Rou helpfully pa.s.sed over the plates for him to dish out.

Then she gave him two more plates of prepared ingredients, and the cycle resumed!

Zhu Zi quickly took the plates to the guests. In a very short span of time, under the teamwork of the father-daughter pair, the 10 plates of Kung Pao Chicken was fulfilled.

"Chef Wen, there are 5 more orders for Kung Pao Chicken!" Zhu Zi returned with a new order list.

"Chef Wen, 4 plates of [Squirrel Fish] as well!" Zhu Zi called out again!

"s.h.i.+ Tou, what are you waiting for? Quickly, clean up this mess, and help me gather the ingredients!" Wen Shouzhen said. He stopped cooking, rolled up his sleeves and wanted to prepare the ingredients.

"Father, you take care of the stove. Let me handle this!" Wen Rou walked over and took the kitchen cleaver from Wen Shouzhen's hand. In her other h d, she had a basket of carrots.

"Sister Rou Er, let me do it!" Fang Das.h.i.+ stood up, intending to take the cleaver from Wen Rou, and then his mouth dropped open. The Chinese chopper in Wen Rou's hands had already begun cutting the carrots very quickly.

"Cha, cha, cha, cha!" The sound of the chopper slicing apart the carrot and hitting the wooden chopping board rang out. The sound was quick, in a consistent tempo, and clear, like the joyful beat of the drums.

Wen Shouzhen nodded his head, and returned to the wok, and ready the oil.

In a short while, the entire basket of carrots became small one-inch square pieces. Each piece of carrot was exquisite, like a piece of small treasure.

The oil is finally ready. Wen Shouzhen grabbed the plate that Wen Rou had prepared, and he was very happy!

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— a short while later —

"Chef Wen, are the orders ready? The guests are pressing us!" Zhu Zi came in again to hurry Wen Shouzhen.

"It is ready!" Wen Shouzhen replied, and transferred the freshly cooked Kung Pao Chicken to the plates.

When Zhu Zi comes back again, he discovered the plates of [Squirrel fish] covered in golden sauce. The smell was extremely tempting, with a hint of sweet and sour taste.

"Oh…., Chef Wen, your cooking skills are really top-notched!" Zhu Zi giggled as he picked up the [Squirrel Fish], and used his finger to touch the gravy. Then he placed the finger with gravy on his mouth and sucked it

"Wow! It is amazing!" Zhu Zi immediately declared and quickly ran off to deliver the dish to the guests.

"This Zhu Zi! He is so unlucky to be a waiter. If he is a chef or a kitchen hand, he should be able to eat until he is round and fat!" Wen Shouzhen sighed.

"Father, you are not skinny, arhhh!" Wen Rou looked at the pot belly on Wen Shouzhen's tummy.

"You rascal! My tummy is big because I have breathed in too much cooking oil. That is why it is bloated!" Wen Shouzhen gently corrected his daughter.

"Oh! I did not know that you can get fat from smelling the cooking oil. But Father, I saw you eating a bit of everything you cook!" Wen Rou mischievously grinned as she looked at her father's bulging tummy, and immediately made her escape.

At long last, the dinner time at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant was over! Wen Shouzhen stretched his tired arms. Today was really tiring. Actually, he wanted to go and carry all 10 jars of 'Zhang Yuan Hong' home.

But when he recalls that tomorrow he and his daughter have to ready the wine for Manager Lee by tomorrow morning, he decided to drink the wine that he won from gambling on another day. He pocketed some beef, and hid some steam buns in his pockets, and said his goodbyes to his colleagues.

Then the father and daughter pair hurry home to cook more chicken wine.

Fang Das.h.i.+ also followed his s.h.i.+fu and went out with them.

"s.h.i.+fu, Sister Rou Er's skills are so amazing! When did she learn these?" Fang Das.h.i.+ asked.

"Brother s.h.i.+ Tou, please do not joke! I often see my Father in the kitchen at home, and learned from watching. I also practised a lot at home!" Wen Rou replied.

"s.h.i.+fu, sister Rou Er is a really a genius at cooking! To think that when I first start learning how to use the blade, I have to practise my skills on a large number of winter melons! But still, my skills are inferior to what Sister Rou Er had learned on her own!" Fang Das.h.i.+ could not help but exclaim.

"En-" Wen Shouzhen smiled, and nodded his head.

"s.h.i.+fu, did you teach Sister Rou Er to match the ingredients?" Fang Das.h.i.+ asked.

"Oh, yes! Rou Er, how did you know how much of each ingredient to use?" Wen Shouzhen also found this to be puzzling, and asked Wen Rou.

"Hehe! I watched Brother s.h.i.+ Tou when he first gathered the ingredients and memorised it. I still have to thank Brother s.h.i.+ Tou for imparting these skills to me!" Wen Rou immediately came up with a lie. She could not explain that she was reborn. Therefore, she had to credit her cooking knowledge to Fang Das.h.i.+ showing her, and her incredible memory.

"s.h.i.+ Tou, you have worked hard today! You better go back early to rest!" Wen Shouzhen thought that he had not even understood his daughter. How could he allow his daughter to be questioned by his disciple?

Perhaps when there are only two of them on the way home, Wen Rou will be more willing to share her secrets.

Fang Das.h.i.+ unwillingly left. His heart was filled with envy and suspicions but he did not say another word.

Wen Shouzhen did not hide his emotions anymore as he excitedly asked, "Rou Er, quickly inform your father, how did you do it?"

"Father?" Wen Rou remained calm and composed as she looked at her father who was trembling with excitement.

Wen Shouzhen then realised that he was too excited and forgot his manners, and he pretended to cough as he recovered his wits.

"Father, I am not lying! I just watch you and brother s.h.i.+ Tou added the ingredients and memorise it." Wen Rou purposely hid the fact that she was reborn and retained the cooking skills in her past life.

With just one sentence, 'My memory is good', she dispelled all doubts.

Wen Shouzhen half believe her and was still half sceptical. He looked at his daughter. No matter if it is the looks or the aura, she does not resemble a chef!

Forget it! After all, Rou Er is my daughter! I am the best chef in Xianyang and the head chef of Drunken Immortal Restaurant. This is what the phrase ''like father, like daughter' [2] meant!

The more he thinks about it, the happier he becomes, and he finally roared with laughter.

It is already quite late at night, and the street was quite empty. Wen Rou heard the occasional guffaws from her father as they made their way home and shrugged her shoulders. Her father is really weird!

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[1] 8 Liang is 400 grams or 0.88 pounds. That is modern measurement. Here is where it got messy. See, in ancient China, where the story is based, 8 Liang is 0.66 pounds, or 0.3 kg. There are different units for measuring Liang, depending on which part of China you are in. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, they still use the old Liang measurement, see

Urgh!! Confused? I sure am!

[2] 虎父无犬女 - literally translated as 'a tiger will not have dogs as a daughter'. It means that 'like father, like daughter'